I can't figure out the search system on this forum -- I'm sure this has been covered before but I can't find it -- every search I try seems to bring up every thread ever posted.

Anyway, I'm drowning in an ocean of great beer recipes that I'd love to try ... but I'm not technologically advanced enough to.

Is there a way I can convert, say, a recipe that calls for 10 pounds of pale into a quantity of DME? Is it as simple as taking the grain bill and multiplying it by the percentage of extraction efficiency?

The simplest way I've found is plugging the recipe(s) into ProMash or some other brewing software. Figure out the OG, IBU and SRM with the original all-grain recipe, then remove the pale malt and replace it with Light or Extra Light DME or LME. Fiddle until you match the parameters of the original recipe. The only reliable way of making the substitution is by potential extract (in terms of fermentable sugar) per pound per gallon.

In most cases the only substitution you'll need to make is Extract for Base Malt. The other grains can be used in a steep. There are, however, certain instances where you may need to make significant adjustments in order to really match the original all-grain recipe. For instance, some grains require mashing to get the full effect - Carapils only gets about 20% extraction in a steep, but full effect in a mash. Same with Munich and Vienna malts, and flaked grains of any kind. It's pretty tough to get the same sort of beer out of an oatmeal stout recipe in which you've simply replaced the pale malt with malt extract. In order to get the same mouthfeel and flavors, a mash of some sort is needed.

I found that this guide was very helpful in determining how to convert all grain recipes to an extract based one. It also mentions how you can convert it to a partial mash recipe if the grains must be mashed.

I'd recommend a software tool like ProMash or BeerSmith. You can also always post the recipe and someone here will convert it for you. I'm always happy to convert my recipes from one type to another if people send me a PM.

I found that this guide was very helpful in determining how to convert all grain recipes to an extract based one. It also mentions how you can convert it to a partial mash recipe if the grains must be mashed.

Wow! I just downloaded this and read it, and I've now got the partial-mash religion! I've got a couple four-gallon food-grade strawberry buckets that are going to get pressed into service, and with this guide I should be able to convert most all-grain bills into partial-mash.